Easy and Fast Way to Build Internal Tools

Did you know companies channel over 30% of developer resources into crafting bespoke software solutions? Yet, with such a significant investment, many enterprises are at a crossroads. 

Standardized tools often lack the precision and adaptability businesses require. The endeavor to create the ideal internal tool tailored to a company's unique challenges is no small feat.

In this article, we'll navigate the landscape of building internal tools. We'll delve into the inherent challenges, debunk common misconceptions, and underscore the value of a well-crafted, custom solution. We aim to equip you with a strategic perspective, enabling informed decisions that bolster your business's operational edge.

Benefits Of Building Internal Tools

Purpose-built internal tools can transform how your business operates in ways generic software simply cannot. By tailoring tools to your specific workflows and needs, significant productivity, data, and collaboration advantages can be realized. Here are some of the key ways custom internal tools can optimize your business:

1. Streamline Workflows to Boost Efficiency

Rigid off-the-shelf tools often force employees into fragmented workflows with gaps, manual hand-offs, and redundancies. Building customized internal tools tailored to your workflows can help streamline processes by removing friction and silos. 

For instance, intelligent case management systems can automatically route tasks and alerts based on predefined rules and priorities, removing manual oversight. 

Integrations between tools also enable a seamless back-and-forth flow of data and hand-offs. Unified collaboration platforms break down information silos so that teams can clarify work status.

2. Design Tools Perfectly Aligned to Your Needs

Generic one-size-fits-all solutions only offer limited configurations and lack the flexibility to adapt as your needs evolve. But with internal tools custom-built for your specific use cases, you can get the capabilities tailored to your teams' evolving needs. 

For example, you can quickly customize your CRM by adding tailored fields, views, and permissions as your sales team changes tactics or grows. Build custom HR portals or inventory databases that capture niche performance data and metrics necessary for your workflows. 

Unlike third-party software, internal tools put you firmly in control so you can modify tools to stay optimally aligned with shifting business requirements.

3. Take Charge of Your Data Security and Access

Your company’s data is quite valuable and requires constant governance, especially with increasing regulations. Building internal tools with compliance requirements in mind gives you full control and ownership of security and access policies. 

For instance, you can configure granular permission levels tailored to each user profile per your risk comfort. Sensitive data remains on-premise rather than a vendor database server. As new regulations emerge, access controls can be adapted rapidly without relying on third parties, thus avoiding potential system breaches.

4. Break Down Silos to Improve Collaboration

Off-the-shelf tools often tend to fragment data and workflows thus disrupting the complete alignment across teams. However, thoughtfully designed internal tools can provide common systems for seamless collaboration across your organization. 

Building unified dashboards gives company-wide visibility, while custom workflows can standardize processes across departments consistently. For instance, leveraging internal tools for automating approvals across various departments. This improves transparency and alignment thus driving productivity across teams. 

5. Modify Tools to Keep Pace with Evolving Needs

Off-the-shelf systems bog you down with lengthy release cycles and change requests when needs evolve. But with internal tools built in-house, you can rapidly adapt and modify features, interfaces, workflows, and data as needed through quick iterative releases rather than wait on vendors. 

6. Derive Granular Insights with Custom Analytics

Reporting capabilities in off-the-shelf solutions constrain you to generic dashboards and metrics. However, internal tools designed in-house can capture detailed analytics tailored to your KPIs at both granular and aggregated levels. 

For instance, you can build fully customized dashboards with niche sales, service, and marketing metrics. Incorporate predictive analytics to spot trends and scenarios early. Rather than shoehorn your needs into vendor tools, purpose-built analytics, and reporting give timely insights for confident decision-making.

7. Automate Manual Work to Boost Productivity

Teams often develop makeshift spreadsheets, emails, and manual processes to fill gaps in rigid vendor tools, which could be more efficient. Internal tools eliminate these fragmented workflows by automating repetitive cross-functional processes through configurable rules. Document generation, data capture, calculations, report creation, and more can be automated based on triggers. 

Examples of Internal Tools

Internal tools seamlessly integrate processes, people, and productivity. Let's explore their three primary categories in detail: 

Communication & Collaboration Tools: The Digital Connectors

In our interconnected business world, robust communication and collaboration tools are paramount. Platforms like Apple's "loop" are not just about facilitating communication. They ensure that, whether you're in Tokyo or Toronto, you remain seamlessly connected with your team. 

Real-time updates, sharing insights, and collaborative efforts become streamlined, ensuring everyone is aligned with the organization's objectives. Additionally, project management tools are indispensable for teams, guiding them toward achieving milestones, optimizing resource allocation, and ensuring a harmonious progression toward shared goals.

Productivity & Workflow Automation Tools: The Efficiency Multipliers

Time, in the business context, represents potential. Tools that track time go beyond mere counting; they provide insights into optimizing efforts and channeling resources toward tasks that add the most value. 

Data visualization tools, on the other hand, are crucial in today's data-driven world. They convert vast data into actionable insights, offering a comprehensive view of organizational performance and key metrics.

HR & Employee Management Tools: The Organizational Pillars

The success of an organization is deeply rooted in its people. Recognizing this, there are tools tailored to support this invaluable asset. Comprehensive HR management tools ensure that every aspect of an employee's journey is handled, from onboarding to continuous training. 

Feedback platforms are pivotal in ensuring that employees' voices are heard, their achievements recognized, and their concerns addressed. Organizations can create a conducive work environment that fosters growth and innovation by continuously assessing employee satisfaction and engagement through these tools.

Why Build Internal Tools?

In regards to modern business operations, a company's tools and systems can define its agility, efficiency, and competitive edge. Here's why building internal tools is a strategic imperative:

1. Time Saving: Building an internal tool is an investment in efficiency. Consider the hours employees might spend on manual data entry or sifting through spreadsheets. An internal tool tailored to automate these processes can drastically reduce this time. Over months and years, the cumulative hours saved can be redirected towards strategic initiatives, leading to faster decision-making and quicker responses to market changes.
2. Error Reduction: Manual errors, particularly in tasks of a repetitive nature, can have significant financial and operational repercussions. The development of specialized internal tools for automating these processes can markedly diminish the likelihood of such errors. In sectors like finance, even a trivial data entry mistake can result in considerable financial discrepancies. Utilizing an internal tool enhances data consistency, ensures procedural precision, and bolsters overall reliability, thereby serving as a safeguard against potential operational vulnerabilities.
3. Data Analysis: In the age of information, the ability to harness data effectively can set a business apart. By building internal tools to process and analyze vast amounts of data, companies can gain deeper insights into their operations, customer behaviors, and market trends. These insights can guide strategic decisions, from product development to marketing strategies, ensuring the business remains aligned with its objectives and market demands.
4. Assisting Go-to-Market Teams: The market landscape is ever-evolving, with customer preferences, competitive dynamics, and technological advancements constantly shifting. Internal tools can provide real-time insights, enabling go-to-market teams to adapt their strategies swiftly. Whether it's identifying a new market segment, understanding customer feedback, or analyzing the success of a marketing campaign, internal tools provide the data and analytics to inform these decisions.
5. Ensures Accountability: Accountability and transparency are foundational for trust internally among employees and externally with stakeholders. Building internal tools that log activities, track progress, and monitor performance can instill a culture of accountability. Such tools offer a clear trail of operations, ensuring that tasks are not only completed but are also aligned with the business's standards and objectives.
6. Solving Customer-Facing Problems: The customer experience is paramount for business success. Building internal tools tailored to address customer challenges can significantly enhance this experience. For instance, a real-time support ticket tracking tool can ensure swift problem resolution, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
7. Efficiency: Efficiency isn't just about speed; it's about optimizing resources to achieve the best possible outcome. By building internal tools that streamline operations, businesses can ensure that every human or technological resource is utilized to its fullest potential. This optimization can improve outcomes, from improved product quality to enhanced service delivery.

Build Internal Tools Quickly with Low-Code

Building tailored internal tools efficiently requires embracing low-code flexibility. Let's walk through this step-by-step guide to leverage low-code for your business successfully:

1. Define Objectives Thoroughly

Before diving into low-code:

1. Conduct collaborative workshops with business stakeholders and end-users to identify problems your internal tools aim to solve.
2. Gather requirements through user interviews and journey mapping.
3. Document all necessary features, data points, and integrations needed.

Having clear objectives lays the groundwork to leverage the low-code platform optimally later.

2. Get Started Quickly With Low-Code

Low-code platforms offer an accessible avenue for both technical and non-technical team members to expedite application development, thanks to their user-friendly drag-and-drop interfaces and an array of prebuilt components. To maximize this potential, consider training your teams on ToolJet's robust low-code environment. It'll allow teams to swiftly construct customized tools, leveraging ToolJet's versatile low-code building blocks to meet your specific business objectives.

3. Adapt Low-Code Templates

Kickstart development and gain inspiration by customizing low-code templates for various functions like HR, sales, and inventory management. ToolJet provides a template gallery across domains, which can be adapted to create a solid foundation aligned with your business needs. Tweaking these low-code templates cuts development time.

4. Customize UX with Low-Code

ToolJet's wide range of low-code components lets you create customized applications with tables, charts, notifications, and more. Easily customize UI design in real-time to match end-user expectations and brand style guides. 

5. Integrate Data Seamlessly

Low-code platforms accelerate connecting tools to existing databases and APIs without extensive coding. Define validations, transformations, and optimizations during integration to ensure data consistency, accuracy, and timeliness.

6. Create Advanced Logic

ToolJet is a platform that empowers developers by allowing them to use JavaScript and Python, two commonly used programming languages, to create advanced logic and manipulate data. This flexibility enables developers to leverage their existing skills and expertise to build powerful applications and workflows.

7. Continuously Improve

With low-code, user feedback can rapidly be incorporated to enhance usability since changes take effect instantly. Schedule regular low-code app upgrades to match evolving needs and optimize user experience through an iterative approach.

8. Ensure Security

ToolJet enables building secure internal tools quickly without compromising compliance needs. Data encryption, access controls, and detailed audit logs safeguard company information and processes.

Final Thoughts

The ability to swiftly adapt and innovate is paramount in the ever-evolving business landscape. Low-code platforms, especially ToolJet, have emerged as game-changers, empowering businesses to craft tailored solutions without the traditional barriers of time, expertise, or resources. 

The journey doesn't end at development. The real magic unfolds when these tools are put into action, driving efficiency, fostering collaboration, and unlocking new avenues of growth.

As you contemplate the next steps for your business, consider this: What if the solution to your most pressing challenges was just a few drag-and-drops away? Dive into the world of low-code with ToolJet. Explore, experiment, and experience the transformative power of tailored internal tools built swiftly and efficiently.